A woman had a small toy brick stuck in her ear since she was a child and didn’t tell her parents. This week it was removed by a specialist and she can finally hear properly
A woman who thought she was going deaf for the last 20 years was shocked when surgeons finally pulled out a piece of Lego that had been trapped in her ear.
The unnamed patient, from Prokopyevsk, Kemerovo Oblast, southern Russia, put the two-centimetre piece in her ear while playing as a child, but never told her parents and quickly forgot all about it. More than two decades on, her ears were examined by specialists as her hearing deteriorated.
Regional health minister Dmitry Beglov revealed the bizarre case in a social media post. He said: “It turned out that when she was 10 years old, a piece of Lego ended up in her left ear.” Mr Beglov added: “Otolaryngologist Pavel Lebedenko conducted an otoendoscopy and extracted the foreign body from her ear canal. Fortunately, there were no serious consequences – the patient’s hearing immediately improved.”
The minister urged patients not to delay seeking help in order to avoid complications.
Last year it was reported that Lego reported a drop in yearly profits, describing the current economic climate as the toughest toy market for over 15 years.
The company warned that its bottom-line profits might continue to be under pressure in 2024. The Danish toy giant recorded a 5% decrease in operating profits to 17.1 billion Danish krona (£8.1 billion) in 2023.
Net profits also dipped by 5% to 13.1 DKK (£1.5 billion), although the company noted a 7% growth in operating profits during the last six months of the year, which included the Christmas season. Sales slightly increased by 2%, reaching 65.9 billion DKK (£7.6 billion) over the year.
Lego anticipates single-digit sales growth in the coming year, which it believes will outperform the wider toy market. However, it expects net profits to “slightly” decline as it boosts spending on “strategic initiatives”. Chief executive officer Niels Christiansen said: “We are pleased with our performance given that 2023 was the most negative toy market in more than 15 years.”
He added: “Despite the external market conditions, we continued to invest for the future and made good progress on digital, sustainability and retail initiatives that will support long-term growth. We are grateful for our dedicated colleagues who remain committed to our mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.”
